Can We Have Our Chairs Back? Belgian Royal May See Different Court

One of its members has been forced to testify at a corruption trial and another rebuked for bullying journalists, and now Belgium's controversy-hit royal family is facing a new debacle over antique chairs.

Crown Prince Philippe, the heir to the throne, risks a court summons unless he returns a set of 19th-century furniture made for Napoleon, which he borrowed from a state collection to decorate his palace.

The regional government of Flanders has asked the federal government and the royal palace for three years to return several historic antique armchairs and tables, which were ordered by Napoleon for his palace in Antwerp in 1811.

"We can't wait forever," Geert Bourgeois, Flemish minister in charge of tourism and external relations, told Belgian television. "We are nice people and want to solve this amicably, but if needed we will take legal action."

Tom Bridts, director of Heritage Flanders, said the collection put together by Napoleon needed to be returned to the Antwerp palace to go on display. "It concerns tables, chairs, couches and even a bed used by Napoleon," he said. "The problem is that when you loan out something, you expect to get it back when you ask for it. We have asked for it back ... and so far we have not had an answer."

The palace did not comment. Prince Philippe, 47, used tables and chairs from the valuable collection in the 1990s.

The incident marks the latest legal controversy surrounding the royals after Philippe's younger brother, Prince Laurent, had to testify at a corruption trial in January. He acknowledged he was aware funds used to renovate his villa were taken from a military budget but said he had no reason to suspect this could be illegal.

Laurent, 43, who was not charged in the case, became the first senior member of Belgium's royal family to take the stand in a trial. The case increased calls for a purely ceremonial monarchy in Belgium, with fewer royals living off the public purse.

In January Prince Philippe sparked a separate political storm after lashing out at two journalists, warning he would have them barred from the royal palace if they continued to criticize him.